Aspects of the embodiments are directed to systems and methods for forming an optical fiber in a low gravity environment, and an optical fiber formed in a low gravity environment. The system can include a preform holder configured to secure a preform; a heating element secured to a heating element stage and residing adjacent the preform holder; a heating element stage motor configured to move the heating element stage; a tension sensor; a spool; a spool tension motor coupled to the spool and configured to rotate the spool; and a control system communicably coupled to the heating element stage motor and the spool tension motor and configured to control the movement of the heating element stage based on a rotational speed of the spool. The optical fiber can include a fluoride composition, such ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF (ZBLAN), and can be characterized by an insertion loss in a range from 13 dB/1000 km to 120 dB/1000 km.

A control device which is used in a manufacturing apparatus of an optical fiber, the manufacturing apparatus including: a drawing unit; a coating unit; and a curing unit which cures the coating layer. The control device includes: one or a plurality of direction changing devices which change a direction of the bare optical fiber at any position between the drawing unit and the coating unit; a position detection unit which detects a position of the bare optical fiber in the direction changing device; an outer diameter measurement unit which measures an outer diameter of the bare optical fiber; and a control unit which controls a flow rate of a fluid introduced into the direction changing device on the basis of the position of the bare optical fiber measured by the position detection unit and the outer diameter of the bare optical fiber measured by the outer diameter measurement unit.

Monolithic optical structures include a plurality of layer with each layer having an isolated optical pathway confined within a portion of the layer. The monolithic optical structure can be used as an optical fiber preform. Alternatively or additionally, the monolithic optical structure can include integrated optical circuits within one or more layers of the structure. Monolithic optical structures can be formed by performing multiple passes of a substrate through a flowing particle stream. The deposited particles form an optical material following consolidation. Flexible optical fibers include a plurality of independent light channels extending along the length of the optical fiber. The fibers can be pulled from an appropriate preform.

Methods of forming a bandwidth-tuned optical fiber for short-length data transmission systems include establishing a relationship between a change in a modal delay , a change T in a draw tension T and a change in a BM wavelength of light in a BM wavelength range from 840 nm and 1100 nm for a test optical fiber drawn from a preform and that supports BM operation at the BM wavelength. The methods also include drawing from either the preform or a closely related preform the bandwidth-tuned optical fiber by setting the draw tension based on the established relationships of the aforementioned parameters so that the bandwidth-tuned optical fiber has a target bandwidth greater than 2 GHz.Math.km at a target wavelength within the BM wavelength range.

A method for producing an optical fiber includes heating and melting an optical fiber preform and drawing the optical fiber preform. In this method for producing an optical fiber, the optical fiber is formed to include a core, a surrounding cladding surrounding a periphery of the core, and an outer cladding surrounding the surrounding cladding. In the drawn optical fiber, a maximum compressive stress of at least 100 MPa or more is applied to an optical waveguide region including at least the core.

When a GRIN lens fiber is drawn from a preform, control of a fiber diameter is improved in order to increase a production yield of the GRIN lens fiber having a fiber diameter within a desired range. The problem is solved by controlling the drawing speed using a fiber diameter c, which is obtained by correcting a fiber diameter a using the fiber diameter b and a fiber diameter . The fiber diameter a is measured using a diameter measuring instrument A that measures an outer diameter of the GRIN lens fiber, which is being elongated inside a heating furnace, the fiber diameter b is measured using a diameter measuring instrument B that measures an outer diameter of the GRIN lens fiber outside the heating furnace, and the fiber diameter is a value of the fiber diameter a measured a specified period of time T earlier.

A manufacturing method of an optical fiber includes drawing an optical fiber preform and forming a bare optical fiber, coating an outer circumference of the bare optical fiber with a coating layer including a resin, curing the coating layer and forming an optical fiber by curing the coating layer, and changing a direction of the bare optical fiber using one or a plurality of direction changing devices at any position between a position where the bare optical fiber is formed and a position where the coating is performed. The direction changing device includes a guide groove which guides the bare optical fiber, and an internal space portion into which a fluid is introduced from an outside, and in the guide groove, an outlet through which the fluid in the internal space portion is blown to float the bare optical fiber in the guide groove is formed.

Provided is a method for producing a multi-core optical fiber that includes a plurality of cores made of pure silica glass and exhibits a minor transmission loss. The method for producing a multi-core optical fiber according to the present invention is a method for producing a multi-core optical fiber including a plurality of cores made of pure silica glass substantially free of Ge and a cladding surrounding the plurality of cores and made of a fluorine-containing silica glass. The multi-core optical fiber is produced by drawing an optical fiber preform at a drawing tension T satisfying the relationship 0.06 g/m.sup.2<T/S<0.4 g/m.sup.2, wherein S is a total cross-sectional area of the plurality of cores.

A portable computing device includes a processor, a memory, and a portable computing device case that encloses one or more integrated circuits, including at least the processor and the memory. The case includes a molded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) material that includes a polymer material and elongated fibers that adhere to the polymer material and that have a property that varies over a length of the fibers along an elongation axis of the fibers, wherein an adhesion strength between the fibers and the polymer is determined at least in part by a property of the fibers that varies over a length of the fibers along the elongation axis.

A glass base material elongating method of sequentially feeding rod-like glass base materials hung by a glass base material feeding mechanism into a heating furnace, and pulling a glass rod with a smaller diameter by a pulling chuck at a lower part of the heating furnace, includes: aligning, by an alignment guiding device that guides the glass rod, a guiding center of the alignment guiding device with an axis of the glass rod, the alignment guiding device guiding the glass rod between the heating furnace and the pulling chuck.